Could Anthony Joshua have faced Danny Williams on debut?

[JimJim2009]

That is true but if FW is so dastardly why was Calzaghe sitting next to FW at the Cleverly-Kovalev show at seemingly getting on rather well, chatting and smiling?[/quote]

Good question and I don't have an answer. But what isn't in dispute is the £2.4m unpaid which is an absolute scandal. Maybe they have come to a private arrangement, maybe they met privately and put their differences to bed, who knows. But they ended up in high court over that dispute and Joe didn't get paid. I just think a new boxer embarking on a pro career should be very wary of dealing with somebody who is capable of that. The high court judge's summary comments on w arren were very damning. I would not want to get into bed, so to speak, with somebody like that.

[lefty]

You say Expe has a hard on for FW and I suppose the same could be said for me but you know where you said about Wlad being a public image manipulator? Well myself and expe and im sure a few others feel the same way about Eddie Hearn. He likes to give off this image of being people's best mates when let's be honest, he's in it for the money which every promoter is. Anyway, it's not so much a hard on for FW but rather defending some elements of him to a degree.

My views on W arren aren't linked to thinking Eddie is the messiah. I have no doubt at all that in the years to come there'll be some very interesting developments on the Matchroom front - he cannot possibly keep them all happy. At the moment there is euphoric momentum to all their signings etc. 50/50 things that could go either way have gone their way and they're on a roll. It won't last and I'm certain fighters will end up turning on him too. I agree that his angle of coming across as a fighter's best mate is ill-judged in the medium and long term.

He has benefited from being able to cherry pick disgruntled fighters from the W arren and Hennessey camps and he's enjoying spectacular success. He hasn't spent years developing these fighters from scratch and can take risks with them. I wonder how he'll feel taking risks with fighters he has invested a lot of money and several years of time in. I also wonder how he will feel if a fighter he's put a lot into developing - lets say Anthony Joshua in 2 years time - wants to become a free agent and walk away from Matchroom. No doubt Eddie won't have a shxt-eating grin on his face then.

I basically just enjoy the boxing politics from my limited view as an armchair fan [/quote]
Props for that reply you didnt go into a defense of Hearn but rather an objective critique of him which I respect. FW definietly isnt a saint but then which boxing promoter is I guess. It might of been Parsons who said this, I cant remember, however it was something along the lines of all promoters piss in the same bowl or something along those lines haha.

[Tom Ford]

Eddie is a s shifty as any of them. Do not be fooled with his act. And SKY better stop all this PPV shit.

[JimJim2009]

Eddie is a s shifty as any of them. Do not be fooled with his act. And SKY better stop all this PPV poo.

Eddie is in pole position with Sky, W arren isn't competition for the Sky slots as he has his own TV channel. There is no other promoter who comes close to being able to threaten Matchroom. As long as Sky want boxing, Eddie is their man. It will take something dramatic to shift that position. Not sure what it might take really. Sky don't need the biggest and best fights, just a regular slate of good fights. Boxing is a drop in the ocean to them compared to football anyway.

Agree about PPV. I know its a broken record argument but all the boxing we watch on sky is PPV anyway. You can't watch it if you don't subscribe

[JimJim2009]

Props for that reply you didnt go into a defense of Hearn but rather an objective critique of him which I respect. FW definietly isnt a saint but then which boxing promoter is I guess. It might of been Parsons who said this, I cant remember, however it was something along the lines of all promoters piss in the same bowl or something along those lines haha.[/quote]

Cheers mate anyway I can't fall out with anyone called Columbo, its my #1 favourite TV show

[Tom Ford]

Eddie is a s shifty as any of them. Do not be fooled with his act. And SKY better stop all this PPV poo.

Eddie is in pole position with Sky, W arren isn't competition for the Sky slots as he has his own TV channel. There is no other promoter who comes close to being able to threaten Matchroom. As long as Sky want boxing, Eddie is their man. It will take something dramatic to shift that position. Not sure what it might take really. Sky don't need the biggest and best fights, just a regular slate of good fights. Boxing is a drop in the ocean to them compared to football anyway.

Agree about PPV. I know its a broken record argument but all the boxing we watch on sky is PPV anyway. You can't watch it if you don't subscribe

Oh yes, I meant additional PPV has to stop or I am getting a bloody stream for SKY SPORTS!
Just kidding re the stream.

[lefty]

Props for that reply you didnt go into a defense of Hearn but rather an objective critique of him which I respect. FW definietly isnt a saint but then which boxing promoter is I guess. It might of been Parsons who said this, I cant remember, however it was something along the lines of all promoters piss in the same bowl or something along those lines haha.

Cheers mate anyway I can't fall out with anyone called Columbo, its my #1 favourite TV show [/quote]
thanks.

[ILikeBeer]

I just don't understand why Joshua is getting torn to shreds for having an opponent of this standing for his pro debut. This is exactly the sort of person that everybody fights in their debut. Why is it a big deal that Anthony Joshua is doing something all boxers do in their debut?

Is it just because it's a high profile fight? I can understand that being a complaint. When you make somebody a celebrity whilst they are still learning the trade, it often backfires. (Audley Harrison, for example).

But the calibre of the opponent wasn't an issue in any way whatsoever.

[GrantieT]

Ah I didn't realise Williams didn't have a licence to fight in this country.

People saying beating former champions who may be shot is a bad thing but Williams is still reasonably active and always has that punchers chance. Doing to Williams what Joshua did to Leo on Saturday would have increased his hype even more.

I just hope Joshua is given mildly challenging fights. He's already too good to waste on shows vs no hopers.

Terrible shout by myself with the licence thing but threw the idea out there anyway ;)

This is what these great forums are for right?!

P.s As for his next opponent, will throw another suggestion out there for you hungry wolves..... How about Tom Dallas?

[JC]

Ah I didn't realise Williams didn't have a licence to fight in this country.

People saying beating former champions who may be shot is a bad thing but Williams is still reasonably active and always has that punchers chance. Doing to Williams what Joshua did to Leo on Saturday would have increased his hype even more.

I just hope Joshua is given mildly challenging fights. He's already too good to waste on shows vs no hopers.

Terrible shout by myself with the licence thing but threw the idea out there anyway ;)

This is what these great forums are for right?!

P.s As for his next opponent, will throw another suggestion out there for you hungry wolves..... How about Tom Dallas?

Dallas is the sort of opponent he might possibly be fighting about is 8th to 10th fight depending on how often they have him out.

Matchmaking is an art, and even the most experienced guys get it wrong sometimes. So don't worry about his opponents at this stage, we wont have heard of most of them. That's as it should be, at 23 he has all the time in the world. Just enjoy being there at what's hopefully the start of something.

[Bard of Boxrec]

I just don't understand why Joshua is getting torn to shreds for having an opponent of this standing for his pro debut. This is exactly the sort of person that everybody fights in their debut. Why is it a big deal that Anthony Joshua is doing something all boxers do in their debut?

Is it just because it's a high profile fight? I can understand that being a complaint. When you make somebody a celebrity whilst they are still learning the trade, it often backfires. (Audley Harrison, for example).

But the calibre of the opponent wasn't an issue in any way whatsoever.

It happens every time a high-profile amateur turns pro. I can only assume the person asking is usually a wider sports fan who doesn't really understand how boxing works, and thinks because a novice can go up against a top player in sports like tennis that it should happen in boxing too.

[forcefraser]

I want to see Joashua face Butterbean.

[SamWise72]

Yeah, I suspect it's because so many people know so little about boxing. You'd think this place would be a hotbed of knowledgeable fans, but it doesn't always seem that way.

[mason123]

Yes maybe for his 3rd or 4th but he is fighting paul butlon next

[ILikeBeer]

Yes maybe for his 3rd or 4th but he is fighting paul butlon next

What? I was expecting him to fight one of the Klitschko brothers.

[oliverfennell]

By the same logic, would you see him face Holyfield in his second bout, followed by a huge box office showdown with Tyson?!

Holyfield would still be an excellent test for most prospects. Not saying he should come out of retirement, but he looked a lot sharper pushing 50 than Danny does at 40.

[ILikeBeer]

By the same logic, would you see him face Holyfield in his second bout, followed by a huge box office showdown with Tyson?!

Holyfield would still be an excellent test for most prospects. Not saying he should come out of retirement, but he looked a lot sharper pushing 50 than Danny does at 40.

Did Holyfield ever officially retire? He seems to pop up every year or two, have one fight and then go quiet again.

[Adamj1987]

why not julius francis or kevin mcbride then if you wanted danny williams?

[ILikeBeer]

What about Bruno?

What about Ricky Hatton? He tends to get quite fat at times, he's probably only a few burgers away from the 200 ib limit?